Romans 1:11

1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift ¹  to strengthen you,

Romans 1:2

1:2 This gospel ²  he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,

Colossians 1:28

1:28 We proclaim him by instructing ³  and teaching ⁴  all people ⁵  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ⁶  in Christ.

Philippians 1:27

1:27 Only conduct yourselves ⁷  in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that – whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent – I should hear that ⁸  you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, ⁹ 

Philippians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ¹⁰  and Timothy, slaves ¹¹  of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ¹²  with the overseers ¹³  and deacons.

Philippians 2:17-18

2:17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you. 2:18 And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me.

Philippians 3:6

3:6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.

Philippians 3:10-11

3:10 My aim is to know him, ¹⁴  to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, ¹⁵  and to be like him in his death, 3:11 and so, somehow, ¹⁶  to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:2

3:2 Beware of the dogs, ¹⁷  beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ¹⁸ 

Philippians 1:4

1:4 I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you

[1:11]  ¹ sn Paul does not mean here that he is going to bestow upon the Roman believers what is commonly known as a “spiritual gift,” that is, a special enabling for service given to believers by the Holy Spirit. Instead, this is either a metonymy of cause for effect (Paul will use his own spiritual gifts to edify the Romans), or it simply means something akin to a blessing or benefit in the spiritual realm. It is possible that Paul uses this phrase to connote specifically the broader purpose of his letter, which is for the Romans to understand his gospel, but this seems less likely.

[1:2]  ² tn Grk “the gospel of God, which he promised.” Because of the length and complexity of this sentence in Greek, it was divided into shorter English sentences in keeping with contemporary English style. To indicate the referent of the relative pronoun (“which”), the word “gospel” was repeated at the beginning of v. 2.

[1:28]  ³ tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct,, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouqetounte", “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anqrwpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.

[1:28]  ⁴ tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouqetounte") and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskonte") are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).

[1:28]  ⁵ tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[1:28]  ⁶ tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.

[1:27]  ⁷ tn Grk “live as citizens.” The verb πολιτεύεσθε (politeuesqe) connotes the life of a freeman in a free Roman colony.

[1:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “the things concerning you, [namely,] that.” The ὅτι (Joti) clause is appositional to τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν (ta peri Jumwn) and therefore “the things concerning you” was not translated.

[1:27]  ⁹ tn The phrase “the faith of the gospel” could mean one of three things: “the faith that is the gospel” (genitive of apposition), “the faith that originates from the gospel” (genitive of source), or “faith in the gospel” (objective genitive).

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ¹² map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ¹³ sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[3:10]  ¹⁴ tn The articular infinitive τοῦ γνῶναι (tou gnwnai, “to know”) here expresses purpose. The words “My aim is” have been supplied in the translation to emphasize this nuance and to begin a new sentence (shorter sentences are more appropriate for English style).

[3:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to know him, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.”

[3:11]  ¹⁶ tn On εἰ πῶς (ei pws) as “so, somehow” see BDAG 279, s.v. εἰ 6.n.

[3:2]  ¹⁷ sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.

[3:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”